SD v New South Wales Crime Commission

In the matter of SD v New South Wales Crime Commission, the applicant, SD, sought judicial review of a decision made by the New South Wales Crime Commission. The dispute concerned the Commission's refusal to grant SD access to certain information held by it. The case was heard by Bell and Gageler JJ of the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the New South Wales Crime Commission was entitled to refuse access to information under section 57 of the *Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002* (NSW) on the grounds that disclosure would prejudice the investigation of a contravention or possible contravention of the law. SD contended that the Commission's refusal was unlawful, arguing that the statutory preconditions for invoking this exemption were not met.

Bell and Gageler JJ reasoned that the proper construction of section 57 required the Commission to demonstrate a real and appreciable risk that disclosure would prejudice an investigation. Their Honours held that the Commission had failed to establish this threshold, as the information sought by SD did not relate to any ongoing or reasonably contemplated investigation. The Court emphasised that the exemption was not to be applied in a speculative or overly broad manner, but rather required a demonstrable connection between the disclosure of the information and the potential prejudice to law enforcement activities.

The Court found in favour of the applicant, SD, and ordered that the decision of the New South Wales Crime Commission be quashed.